Swegler Richmond finishes 1st at Nike meet / Cross country

Kaia Swegler Richmond, a junior at South Whidbey High School, won her division at the 145-team Nike Portland XC Saturday, Sept. 28, at Blue Lake Park in Fairview, Ore.

The massive meet included more than 4,000 runners spread over 21 classifications.

Teams were placed in divisions based upon their average 5,000-meter times. The Danner Division included the top schools, followed by Divisions 1, 2, 3, small school and sub-varsity levels.

The Falcon girls ran in Division 3 and placed eighth out of 20 teams with 237 points. McKay High School from Salem, Ore., claimed first with 89.

The South Whidbey boys ran in Division 2 and finished sixth out of 39 schools with 309 points. El Segundo, Calif., won with 197.

Swegler Richmond led the field of 142 runners in the Division 3 girls race with a time of 19:14.4, nearly five seconds better than runner-up Jazmine Liebl of McKay.

Grace Huffman was 47th (22:19.5), Jasmin Graner 55th (22:29.5), Flannery Friedman 62nd (22:43.8), Laila Gmerek 95th (23:58.7) and Natalie Rodriguez 100th (24:17.6).

Michael Harwell led the seven Falcon varsity boys in the Division 2 race of 272 runners, taking ninth in 16:50.6. Jeret Gillingham of Sandy, Ore., finished first in 16:05.9.

Thomas Simms was the next Falcon to finish, crossing the line in 59th (17:32.8), followed by Cooper Ullmann (60th, 17:32.9), Reilly McVay (73rd, 17:41.4), Aidan Donnelly (118th, 18:01.3), Aidan O’Brien (132nd, 18:13.2) and Trent Hogarth (206th, 18:57.7).

South Whidbey hosts a North Sound Conference meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9.

The South Whidbey boys take off at the beginning of the varsity race.(Photo by Karen Swegler)

The South Whidbey boys take off at the beginning of the varsity race. (Photo by Karen Swegler)

Flannery Friedman, Laila Gmerek and Natalie Rodriguez run together early in the race.(Photo by

Flannery Friedman, Laila Gmerek and Natalie Rodriguez run together early in the race. (Photo by

Michael Harwell (3872), who went on to finish ninth, runs among the leaders mid-race. (Photo by Karen Swegler)

Michael Harwell (3872), who went on to finish ninth, runs among the leaders mid-race. (Photo by Karen Swegler)

Grace Huffman (3886) and Jasmin Graner (behind Huffman) head through the course.(Photo by Matt Simms)

Grace Huffman (3886) and Jasmin Graner (behind Huffman) head through the course. (Photo by Matt Simms)

Where’s Whidbey? The Falcon JV boys are running with the masses early in the race.(Photo by Karen Swegler)

Where’s Whidbey? The Falcon JV boys are running with the masses early in the race. (Photo by Karen Swegler)

Thomas Simms (3881) and Cooper Ullman (3882) head toward the finish line.(Photo by Matt Simms)

Thomas Simms (3881) and Cooper Ullman (3882) head toward the finish line. (Photo by Matt Simms)

Kaia Swegler Richmond points out South Whidbey (spelling incorrectly) on the back drop of the podium.(Photo by Matt Simms)

Kaia Swegler Richmond points out South Whidbey (spelling incorrectly) on the back drop of the podium. (Photo by Matt Simms)